Ironing machine



Dec. 23, 1952 A. R. CONSTANTINE IRONING MACHINE l2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FiledApril 9, 1945 E 2 M W5 #M M w my y ;,B

Dec. 23, 1952 A. R. CONSTANTINE IRONING MACHINE 12 Sheets-Sheet 2 FiledApril 9, 1945 [/0 I ULTS my A9.

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Dec. 23, 1952 CONSTANTINE 2,622,352

ONING MACHINE Filed April 9, 1945 1 l2 Sheets-Sheet 3 VIIIIIIIQ'.

A. R CONSTANTINE Dec. 23, 1952 IRONING MACHINE l2 Sheets-Sheet 4 FiledApril 9, 1945 Dec. 23, 1952 A. R. CONSTANTINE 2,622,352

IRONING MACHINE Filed April 9, 1945 l2 Sheets-Sheet 5 Dec. 23, 1952 A.R. CONSTANTINE IRONING MACHINE l2 Sheets-Sheet 7 Filed April 9, 1945Dec. 23, 1952 A. R. CONSTANTINE IRONING MACHINE l2 Sheets-Sheet 8 FiledApril 9, 1945 R NV/60M amr H M N wwm E 0 a a w Dec. 23, 1952 A. R.CONSTANTINE IRONING MACHINE l2 Sheets-Sheet 9 Filed April 9, 1945 3 Nu &NS

Mm mm A. R. CONSTANTINE IRONING MACHINE 12 Sheets-Sheet- 1o Dec. 23,1952 Filed April 9, 1945 A. R. CONSTANTINE IRONING MACHINE Filed April9, 1945 12 Sheets-Sheet ll 2 WW. Y W W Z 0 Z Patented Dec. 23, 1952IR-ONIN G MACHINE Arthur R. Constantine, South Bend, Ind., assignor, bymesne assignments, to Avco Manufacturing Corporation, New York, N. Y., acorporation of Delaware Application April 9, 1945, Serial No. 587,315

Claims.

1 This invention relates to ironing machines of the type employing apadded roll operated to iron or press articles between such roll and aheated shoe.

It is a primary object of the present invention to provide an ironingmachine having an arrangement of shoe and roll in combination with drivemechanism which provides an improved operation thereof from thestandpoint of ease of operation and safety.

Itvis a further object to provide an ironing mechanism so arranged incombination with drive. and support mechanism for a shoe and roll whichwill permit ironing operations to be efficiently performed.

It is a further object to provide mechanism for moving an ironingmachine shoe with respect to ironing position to and from a roll in sucha manner as to make possible a release of such shoe from its actuatingmechanism at any time during its operation and to allow such shoe to bemoved to a normal down position or to a safety position a greaterdistance away from the roll.

The above and other objects of the invention will appear more fully fromthe following more detailed description and by reference to theaccompanying drawings forming a part hereof and wherein:

Figure 1 is a front elevational view of an ironing machine embodying theprinciples of this invention, with certain parts broken away tofacilitate illustration;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Figure3, diagrammatically showing the roll support and drive means therefor;

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 3- -3 of Figure 4 showingthe drive mechanism for the roll and the control means for effectingactuation of the shoe;

Figure 4 is a sectional view through the drive mechanism taken on theline 44 of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a sectional view taken on theline 55-of, Figure 4;

Figure 6 is a sectional view taken on the line 6-46 of Figure 4;

Figures '7 and 8 are side and end views, respectively, partly insection, showing the position of the parts of the driving mechanism whenthe shoe is away from the roll, but ready to be actuated to be movedtoward the roll;

Figures 9 and 10 are views similar to Figures 7 and 8 but showing theposition of the parts when the controls have been actuated tov start theshoe toward the roll;

2 Figure 9A is an enlarged view somewhat similar to Figure 9, butshowing the parts in greater detail;

Figure 9B is a sectional view of the structure shown in Figure 9A;

Figures 11 and 12 are views similar to Figures 7 and 8', and Figures 9and 10, but showing the position of the parts when the shoe has beenmoved to a position contacting the roll;

Figure 13 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken on the linel3--l3 of Figure 1, through the roll and shoe, showing the support anddrive mechanism under the shoe and table for moving the same toward andfrom the roll; the shoe, however, being shown in its normally downposition away from the roll;

Figure 14 is a view showing the same mechanism as Figure 13, but withthe parts in position to hold the shoe against the roll;

Figure 15 is a view similar to Figure 13, but showing the shoe movedaway from the roll to its normal down position after actuation of asafety release mechanism;

Figure 16 is a view showing the shoe moved to a safety position amaximum distance away from the roll as a result of actuation of thesafety rev lease mechanism;

Figure 17 is a view showing the shoe moved away from the roll a maximumdistance into its safety position, and to which safety position it maybe moved manually from the normal down position shown in Figure 13,without actuation of the safety release mechanism;

Figure 18 is a diagrammatic plan view of the ironing machine showing theconnections under the table to the safety release mechanism and themeans whereby the safety lever may be actuated to push the shoe to themaximum open position;

Figure 18A is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line l8A-l8A ofFigure 18; and

Figure 19 is a wiring diagram schematically showing the circuit forestablishing the various electrical connections to the several units.

Referring to the drawings, a hollow ironer roll I0 is mounted forrotation, supported and driven from one end, the end support beingproduced by means of a casting l l and shaft I 2 which is supported inand extends outwardly from the casting inside the roll l0. As showninFigure 2, the roll 10 has an inner bearing l3 and a second bearing l4near its end adjacent casting II.

In line with the bearingtl4 there is also an internal drive gear l5inside the roll). It is apparent on inspection of Figure "2 that theroll I0 is mounted for free rotation upon the stationary shaft H bymeans of bearings l3 and I4 and is driven through the internal gear by apinion it which meshes with the gear I5 and is driven from a shaft Hwhich extends inside the casting II. The inwardly extending end of theshaft I! has two sprockets l8 and I9 mounted for rotation thereon, whichsprockets may be selectively secured to rotate with the shaft IT by asliding clutch member 2| actuated manually by any suitable orconventional yoke mechanism 2W having a knob 2l Drive chains 22 and 23(Figures 3 and 4) are connected to drive the sprockets I9 and I9,respectively, the opposite ends of the chains being carried aroundsprockets 24 and 23 which are mounted to roi tate upon a stud shaft 23together with a third sprocket 26 which is driven by a main drive chain2'! from a main drive sprocket 29. The shaft is fixed to a bracket 25secured to the casting l l by fastening elements 25. The sprocket 24 isof larger diameter than the sprocket 25 and the sprocket I9 is of largerdiameter than the sprocket 18 so that the chain drive thus affords twodifferent speeds of rotation for the roll it! as selected by theclutching of sprocket [8 or sprocket Hi to shaft I? by the clutch member24. The main drive sprocket 28 is welded or otherwise secured to andcarried by a bushing 29 (Figs. 7, 9, 9A and 11) which is mounted forrotation upon an intermediate portion of a worm wheel hub 34 whichextends outwardly from a worm wheel 32. The worm wheel hub 31 and wormwheel 32 form an integral unit, to the end of which is secured a notchedclutch member 33. The worm wheel 32 is driven by a worm 34 which isdriven by the main driving motor (not shown, except in Figure 19) of themachine through a pulley 35 (Figure 3) and a belt 35*. It is apparentthat when the worm 34 is driven continuously, the Worm wheel 32 and thenotched clutch member 33 will also be driven continuously. Againreferring to the main drive sprocket 23 and its bushing 29 which is freeto rotate upon the worm wheel hub 31, the outer end of the bushing 29has a clutch plate 33 secured to rotate therewith, this clutch platehaving extending lugs 31 adapted to extend into the notches 33 of thenotched clutch member 33. In fact, the assembly carrying the sprocket 28and the plate 36 is normally urged axially in a direction to keep theseprojections 31 in the notches 33 of the clutch member 33 by the actionof a spiral type compression spring 38, which is interposed between the:worm wheel 32 and the adjacent end of the bushing 29. The clutch plate36 has an annular peripheral portion which extends beyond thecircumference of the notched clutch member 33 in such a position that itmay be contacted by an actuating yoke 39 (Figures 3 and 6) which hasextending arms suitable for contact with the extending portion of theclutch plate 36. The actuating yoke 39 is mounted upon the upper end ofa shaft 4| which pivots in a boss 4W formed integral with the casting H.An arm 4| is secured to the lower end of the shaft 41 and a cable 42 isconnected to said arm so that rotation of this shaft by pulling thecontrolcable 42 will actuate the yoke member 39 to push the clutch plate39 in a direction to pull the lugs 31 out of engagement with the notches33 in the clutch member 33. Control cable 42 is connected to be operatedby the knee control lever 43 (Figure 1) although, as will be apparentlater, this is not the primary operating means for the actuating member39. But such actuation will cause the roll [0 to stop its rotation bydisconnecting the lugs 3'1 from the notches 33 of the clutch member 33.The worm wheel and hub unit 3| and 32 is mounted to rotate freely upon asupport shaft 44 which has one end thereof mounted in a boss 44 (Figures4 and 9A) formed within the casting l I. The shaft 44 extends outwardlyfrom the boss 44 a sufficient distance to support the worm wheel 32 andsprocket unit 23--29 and to carry also a cam member 45 on its inner endwhich is also mounted to rotate freely on the shaft 44 between aretainer ring 44 and a retainer disc 44 the latter being secured to theend of the shaft 44 by a countersunk screw 44 The rotation of the cammember 45 will oscillate a lever 43 which is connected to anoscillata'ble shoe operating shaft 4?. The end of the lever 45 has a camcontacting roller 48. As will later be apparent, the maximum positionsof the lever 49 bring an ironing shoe 6| into and out of engagement withthe roll 19. It is, therefore, necessary to provide means to rotate thecam 45 a half revolution, first to bring the lever 46 into one of itsmaximum positions and then to rotate a second half revolution to placethe lever 46 in its opposite position, thereby to bring the shoe 6| froma non-contacting to a contacting ironing position. The intermittentdrive mechanism for accomplishing this purpose comprises a controldevice for clutching the cam unit 45 to the notched clutch member 33,the same notched clutch member which was referred to in the descriptionof the roll drive and which is continuously rotated through the wormwheel 32. For the purpose of connecting cam 45 with the notched clutchmember 33, a pin 49 extends through a sleeve 49 in the cam member 45 ata position to slide into one of the notches 33 of the member 33 on axialmovement of the pin 49. This pin is connected to one end of a pivotedlever member 5!, as best shown in Figure 9B. Thus, the pin 43 extendsinto an oversize opening 49 in the lever 54 and is pivotally connectedto said lever by a relativel smaller pin 49 extending therethrough andinto a pair of transverse open slots 49 formed in said lever. The pin 49is also connected to one end of a general U-shaped spring 49 disposed ina radial slot 49 in the lever 5!. The opposite end of the spring 49 isanchored at 49 to the lever 54. This mounting arrangement for the pin 49provides for yielding engagement of the end 49 thereof with the adjacentface of the clutch member 33 until said pin enters one of the notches 33in said clutch member, and also provides for positive disengagement ofsaid pin from said notch to provide an intermittent drive for the cam45, in accordance with the actuation of the lever 5|, all as will bemore fully set forth in detail hereinafter.

The lever 51 is mounted on a pivot pin 52 carried by a pair of lugs 52formed integral with the cam 45, and a set screw 52 in the arm 5!retains said arm and pin in assembled relation with said lugs. The axisof the pivot pin 32 is transverse to and lies substantially at the axisof the stationary shaft 44. A spring 93 normally urges the pivoted lever51 in a direction such that the pin 49 is normally engaged with thenotched clutch member 33 unless the lever 91 is held against the actionof the spring 53. In order to hold the pin 49 out of engagement and to,therefore, hold the cam 45 in a stationary position in relation to theclutch member 33, the lever 5| is provided with offset projections 51and Bi at the opposite ends thereof and an actuating 33 in the clutchmember 33. "that the opposite ends 5| and 5| of the lever 5| are adaptedto contact opposite sides of the each case, pull the pin 49 out ofcontact. actuating arm 54 is pivoted upon a pin 55 mount- -lever 50(Figure 1).

ends 5| and 5| of the lever 5|.

'arm 54 having a taperedorchisel-shaped end 54 is so positioned in thepath of normal travel of the ends 5I and 5| of the lever 5| and is soshaped that upon rotation of the cam 45, which pin 49 out of engagementwith one of the notches It is to be noted tapered end 54 of theactuating arm 54 to, in The ed in a lug 55 (Figure '3) extendinginwardly from the front wall of the casting I A projection 54' is madeintegral with the arm 54 and 'has one end of a cable 50* securedthereto. The cable 5|) extends through a curved guide tube 5|] mountedon the casting II and the opposite end of the cable 5|) is secured to aknee control The arm 54 also has an integral extension 54 carrying anadjustable bolt 54 A spring 54 mounted on the arm 54 tends to maintainthe actuating arm 54 in the position shown in Figure 3 with the bolt 54engaging a stop 54.- I-Ience, when the actuating arm 54 is swungupwardly by a pull of the cable 50 produced by actuation of knee control59,

the spring 49 and the end 5| 'is permitted to move slightlylongitudinally relative to said pin by the lost motion connectionprovided by the pin 49 and the slots 49 Upon engagement of the pin 49with one of the notches 33 in the clutch member 33, the cam 45 willrotate and continue to rotate as long as the actuating arm 54 is held sothat it will not contact either of the However, in case it is desiredonly to move the cam 45 a half revolution, the end 54 of the actuatingmember 54 will be moved away from the-end or opposite end of the lever5| as it swings around at the next 180 of rotation and when member '54.contacts said opposite end of the lever 5| it will immediately pull thepin 49 out from contact with the clutch member 33 and stop the rotationof the cam 45. It is apparent, therefore, that unless the actuating arm54 is pulled out of its normal position by the knee control 50, or othermeans exerting a pull on cable 50*, the end 54 of the arm of member 54will be in contact, within the next 180 of rotation, with one end or theother of the lever 5| and will casue the cam 45 to stop in one or theother of its maximum positions corresponding to the maximum oscillatingpositions of the lever 46, and when the member 54 is actuated by kneecontrol 50 and immediately released and allowed to assume its normalposition it will cause a half revolution of the v cam 45 on each suchactuation.

It was previously mentioned that the actuat- 1 1 yoke 39 controlling theclutch connection for rotation of the roll l6 might be actuated by meansother than the control cable 42 and the knee control 43. Accordinglythereis provided another and primary means of actuating the roll I0which is by means of a cam member 51 mounted to rotate with the cammember 45 and attached to the side thereof nearest the clutch member 33by a plurality of screws 51 (Figure 5). The cam 51 is circular andapertured for the-passage of the bushing 49 and the shaft 44. This cam,as will be noted in Figure 5, is so constructed as to provide a camtrack 51 at its periphery normally in contact with a projecting pin58secured to the actuating yoke 39. The cam track 51' includes adepressed portion 51 arranged so that upon rotation of the cam 45 andupon en'- gagement of the pin 58 with the cam portion 519, the actuatingyoke 39 will be moved to cause the roll clutch to be engaged in thedesired relation to the rotation of the cam 45 which, as will be laterapparent, controls the movement of the shoe 6| to and from the roll It.It is thus evident that the cam 51, through its engagement with the pin58, synchronizes the movement of the roll clutch 33 with the movement ofcam 45 which actuates the shoe 6|, assuring that the roll clutch 33, dueto the design of the cam track 51, will be brought into engagement intime to have the roll Ill rotating when the ironing shoe 6| is broughtinto contact with the roll I0.

As previously mentioned, the rotation of the cam 45 causes anoscillating movement of the lever 46 against which it operates bya-contact with the cam contacting roller 48. And also as previouslystated, the lever 46 is secured to the end of the shaft 41, which istherefore oscillated and which extends under the main table T to a pointapproximately at the center of the roll I0. At this central portion ofthe roll l0 and under the roll l0, provision is made for the support ofan electrically heated ironing shoe 6| which carries a table 62 alongits front edge. Under the table 62 and extending from the front edge ofthe shoe 6| are bracket extension members 63, to the end of which issecured a lever member 64 which has an upper pivot 65 under the table 62and a lower pivot 66 on bracket means 66 (Figure 18A) just under themain table T. Lever member 64 extends through an opening X in the tableT and is of substantial width, as can be seen in Figure 1, and thusaffords a substantial rigidity to the shoe in a longitudinal direction.In effect, this wide lever 64 afiords the same support as would twospaced levers. Support for the shoe 6| is completed by a support member61 (Figures 13 to 17) located substantially under the central portion ofthe shoe 6|. This support 61 is pivoted to the under side of the shoe 6|at 68 and has a threaded portion 69 and extends downwardly through a pin1| which is carried between spaced plates 12 of a bell crank lever. Themember 69 has a spring 13 surrounding it which is held between a nut 14and the previously-mentioned pin 1|, so that, if pressure is exertedfrom the bell crank lever 12 upwardly, the spring 13 will be placedunder compression and the force transmitted will actually be through thespring 13. The pin 1| has a stop member 15 extending therethrough whichabuts against a stop 16 carried between the plates 12. The stop member15 and the stop 16 provide limitation for the rotation of the pin 1| ina clockwise direction in the plates 12 of the bell crank. The stopmember 15 is ofiset from the member 69 and does not extend therethroughand themember 69 is therefore free to slide relative to pin II.

The plates I2 have freedom of rotation around the projecting bosses IIof a lever I8, which lever is secured by a pin 18* to the shaft 4'I. So,in effect, the bell crank lever plates I2 are free to rotate relative tothe shaft 47. In order to make a, connection between bell crank leverplates I2 and the shaft 41, the end of the lever I8 is pivotally securedby a pin 18' to a pusher lever I9 which has an abutment SI adapted tocontact a face 82 of an intermediate latching member 83. Thisintermediate latching member 83 is mounted to swing upon a pivot 84 andis normally urged in a counter-clockwise direction, as viewed in Figure13, by a, torsion spring 85. The pusher lever I9, previously mentioned,has an extension 86 which extends beyond the abutment portion 8|. Theabutment portion 8| contacts the surface 82 at a point such that thepush exerted upon the upper end of the pusher lever I9 will tend torotate the intermediate latching lever 83 in a direction clockwise, asshown in Figure 13, against the action of the spring 85. It is evidentupon inspection that this result is accomplished when the direction ofthe force exerted through the pusher lever I9 is to the right of pivot84. A solenoid latch lever 88 is pivoted on the pin 89 and has a latchportion 9! which contacts the end of the intermediate latching ,lever 83on clockwise rotation of the solenoid latch member 88 about the pin 89.The opposite end of the latch member 88 is secured to an armature 92 ofa solenoid 93 by a link 93 so that when the solenoid 93 is energized byclosing the electrical circuit thereto, the latch member 88 will bemoved to its maximum position clockwise by the electromagnetic means ofthe solenoid 93 to hold the end of the intermediate latching lever 83 inlatched position as shown in Figure 13. The entire linkage abovementioned, which is connected to the end of the lever I8, is carriedbetween the two bell crank plates I2 and it is apparent that as long asthe abutment 3! is in contact with the face 82 and the intermediatelatching lever 83 is held in position by the energized solenoid 93, theclockwise movement of the shaft 41 will push against the support member61 through the resilient support of spring I3 to push the ironing shoeSI in an upward direction into engagement with the roll I0.

In order that the shaft 41 may be normally held in its maximum positionin a counter-clockwise direction with the shoe 6I away from the roll l0,one end of a spring 94 is secured to the end of this shaft through alever 95 and the other end of said spring is fastened to a channelmember 94* (Figure 15) and, as seen in Figures 13 and 15, the spring 94will tend to urge the shaft 41 in a counter-clockwise direction and theclockwise rotation of the shaft 4'1 will, therefore, act against thetension of the spring 9-4. inasmuch as the force of gravity will tend tocause the shoe BI to fall away from the roll I into the position shownin Figure 13, the tension of the spring 94 is added to this force and,therefore, the force which tends to move the shoe 61 away from the rollIt is the force of gravity plus the tension of the spring 9 while thforce tending to move the shoe 5i upwardly toward the roll I0 is thatforce exerted by the cam 45' through the lever 45 and the shaft 4!-through the bell crank members E2 to lift the shoe 6! against the forceof gravity and against the spring 94. It may, therefore, be said thatthe actuating mechanism provided herein only moves the shoe 6| towardthe roll I0 and that gravity and the spring pressure from spring 94 areseparate forces which move the shoe 6| away from the roll I0.

It is noted that the lever 64 is of L shape and has a forwardlyextending or lateral portion 64 ahead of the pivot 66 and that a stop MIis provided under the lever 04 as a limit to its move ment in aclockwise direction about the pivot 66. A rubber stop I02 carried by abracket I02 is provided for the bell crank assembly made up of thepreviously mentioned plates I2, a roller I2 mounted on a pin 12 carriedby said plates being adapted to engage said stop. However, asshown inFigure 13, this stop I02 is a limiting position for the away from theroll rotation of the bell crank assembly I2 about the shaft 41; or, ifthe shaft 41 is connected to the bell crank I2, it is a limit to theaway from the roll movement of the bell crank assembly with such shaft41. As shown in Figure 13, the stop I02 positions the parts so that aso-ca1led normal down position of the shoe 6| away from the roll I0 iseffected when the roller I2 at the end of the bell crank lever assemblyI2 is in contact with the stop I02. It is noted on reference to Figure13 that the lever 64 is, under such conditions, still away from the stopIOI. However, it is also apparent upon inspection of Figure 13, that thestop member I5 is in contact with the stop I6 which is a limitation onthe rotation of the member 61 about the pivot II in a clockwisedirection. Therefore, with the mechanism in the position shown in Figure13, the operator may grasp the table 02 or any part of the assembly atthe top thereof and pull the assembly toward the operator to a safetyposition shown in Figure 17 This movement will cause a rotation of themember 6I-69 about the pivot I I, the bell crank assembly I2 remainingagainst its stop I02 and, at the same time, the lever 64 will move aboutits pivot 66. Therefore, when the mechanism is in the normal downposition, it may be swung at will to the safety position shown in Figure17. It is noted that there is a spring I03 attached at one end thereofto the lever 64 and attached at its other end to a member I03 so thatsaid spring normally urges this lever in a clockwise direction about thepivot 65. iherefore, the movement above described will be against thetension of this spring I03, which spring is relatively weak but ofsufficient tension to require some force to move the assembly relativeto the roll I0 from the. position of Figure 13 to the more remoteposition of Figure 1'7.

As has been previously mentioned, the drive mechanism comprising cam 45may be actuated to move the shaft 41. so that the shoe BI will be movedfrom the normal down position, as shown in Figure 13, to the ironingposition in contact with the shoe I0 shown in Figure 14. Such movementis produced by the movement of the actuating arm 54, by the movement ofthe knee control 50, so that the actuating arm 54 is moved upwardly awayfrom contact with the pivot lever member 5i so that its spring 53 willallow the pin 49 to make a driving contact with the clutch member 33 andthus rotate the cam 45 a half revolution until the actuating arm 54which, if allowed to assume its normal position, will again release thepin 49 from the clutch member 33 and position the arm 46 and itsassociated mechanism to maintain the ironing shoe 6| in the positionshown in Figure 14. During the rotation of the cam 45, the cam member51- car- ,connected to one end of the rod I06.

9. riedxthcrebyj will contact the projecting pin 58 of the actuatingyoke 39 and cause the roll clutch 33+:36 to'be engaged at the propertime to have theroll rotatingat the time contact of the shoe 6| is hadwith the roll I0. It is noted on reference to Figures 13 and 14 that asthe shaft 4'! rotates'ina clockwise direction it carries with it thebellcrank assembly 12 as long as the solenoid 93 is energized to hold theseveral lever members in contact and thus the shoe assembly 6| movesupwardly toward the roll I; and as this movement starts from theposition of Figure 13, there is a movement also of the lever 64 aboutthe pivot 66-and the pivot 65 and, as the upward movement continues, therotation of the lever 64 about the-pivot 66- in a clockwise directionand toward the stop I 0| for such lever, the arrangement of the severalparts of the mechanism is such that contact of'the-lever 66 with thestop IOI occurs before the shoe 6| contacts the roll I 0 and thereforethe subsequent movement of the shoe 6| must cause rotation about thepivot 65 without further rotation aboutpivot 66, and the movement-of theshoe 6| will be more nearly vertical than would be the case if themovement of the lever 64 about the pivot 66 was not arrested, since suchmovement would allow a sliding ofthe shoe 6| toward the right and wouldproduce an objectionable sliding contact of the shoe 6| with therollI'0. Therefore, this last movement of the, shoe 6| toward the rollI0 requires a rotation of the member 67-69 about the pivot Hand causesthe stop member 15 to move away from the stop 'IG-tothe position shownin Figure 14.

As the. shoe 6| contacts the roll I0, it is assumed that the adjustmentof the spring I3 provided by the nut 14 is such that sufficient ironingpressure will be exerted by the action of the spring 13. It is notedthat thearrangement of the assembly of the spring I3 and the member61-69 issuch that the tension of the spring I3 may be varied by thevadjustment provided and also the relative position of the shoe 6| androll I0 may be controlled to bring contact at the desired time byadjustment of the nut 6'! relative, to the member 69. There is,therefore, both an adjustment of spring tension by means of the nut 14,andadjustment of shoe position by means "ofQthenut 61; thus providingseparate adjustments for these two variables.

,7 Assume that the shoe is in contact withthe roll, as is shown inFigure 14, and it is desired to effect, for some reasoman emergencyrelease of the shoe. Such result may be accomplished by 'any'mechanismwhich will produce a break in the" electrical circuit to the solenoid93, And such release isprovided by an emergency release lever ,I04(Figure 18),-which operates a master switchlIflithrough a linkagecomprising a bell crank. I05 having one end of a rod I66 securedthereto. A shaft I 06 is mounted in a bracket J05 and carries an arm I06which is pivotally IOJis secured to the shaft I06 and one arm thereof"is arranged to control the master switch I05 and the other arm isconnected to one end of a rod, I08. A spring I 08 linterconnects thebell crank levers I05 and I0! and is arranged to position the bell crankI01 tonormally maintain the switch I05 closed. The spring I08 isarranged to provide an over-center toggle connection between the bellcrank levers I05 and I 07, with A bell crank respect to the shaft I06 asan axis. The opposite end of the rod I09 is pivotally connected at I08(Figure 18A) to one end of a rocker lever NW. The rocker lever I06 ispivotally supported at I08 upon a bracket I08. A roller I08 is carriedby the rocker lever I08 in a position where it can engage a lower edgeof the shoe supporting lever 64.

It will be understood from the foregoing that actuation of the safetyrelease lever I04, in the direction of the arrow of Figure 18, willresult in a pull being applied to the rod I08 through the bell crank I05 rod I06, arm I06, shaft I06 and the bell crank I01, and that suchpull will cause the rocker lever I08 to pivot counterclockwise, asviewed in Figure 18A about its pivot I06 with the result that the rollerI08 will push the supporting lever 64 in a counterclockwise directionabout the pivot 66 and effect movement of the shoe 6| away from the rollI0 to its safety position. The rocker lever I08 is shown in dotand-dashlines in Figure 16 to illustrate the manner in which the supportinglever 64 is pushed to move the shoe 6| to its safety position.

It will be apparent from an inspection of Figures 14 and 15 that whenthe solenoid 93 is deenergized the solenoid latch lever 88 will be movedin a counter-clockwise direction about the pin 69 and release the end ofthe intermediate latching member 03, thereby permitting the supportingface 82 to move in a clockwise direction around the pivot 84 and causethe abutment 8| to slip off the face 82 and allow the entire bell crankassembly 12 to swing free about the shaft 41 by such release of theabutment member; the pusher lever I9 then allowing the shoe 6| to dropdownwardly to the position shown in Figure 15 with the bell crankassembly resting upon its stop I02. Furthermore, if the emergencyrelease lever I04 is moved positively in the direction indicated by thearrow in Figure 18, it will actuate the rod I00, as previouslydescribed, to provide a pushing force on the lever 64 to push the entireshoe supporting linkage assembly to the position shown in Figure 16,which is the maximum open position for emergency release. It would alsobe possible, of course, to manually pull the shoe 6| from the normaldown position shown in Fig. 15 to the maximum open position shown inFigure 16, as is always the case when the shoe 6| is away from the rollI0.

Figure 19 shows a wiring diagram in which a circuit is provided from astandard volt circuit with the master switch I05, which is normallyclosed, connected in series in this circuit this being the same switchas shown on Figure 18 and which is controlled by the emergency releaselever I04. In this circuit also there is provided a series connectionfor the driving motor I 09, which drives the worm 34 for continuousrotation of the clutch member 33.

A circuit is also provided to place the solenoid 93 in series'with theswitch III) controlling the motor circuit but in parallel with themotor. The circuit also provides for a heat control to the ironer shoewhich circuit is controlled by the heat switch I I I. Inasmuch as theheat control forms no part of the present invention it is not shown indetail herein.

In normal operation of the machine when ready to start ironing the shoeand table 6|, 62 are in the normal down position shown in Figure 3, thatis with the shoe 6| away from the roll I0.

Figures 7 and 8 show the drive mechanism in a position corresponding tothat which locates the ironing shoe 6| in its maximum normal positionaway from the roll I0. In this position, the cam 46 is stationary andthe pin 49 is held out 1 1 of contact with the clutch member 33 becauseof the fact that the actuating arm 54 is in the path of the end Eel ofthe pivoted lever 5| thereby holding the pin d9 away from the clutchmember 33.

When in the process of ironing it is desired to move the shoe 5| upwardinto contact with the roll it it is assumed that the shoe 6! is heatedand that the circuit to the motor I09 is closed by closing the motorswitch H and therefore the worm 34 is rotating, which in turn producescontinuous rotation of the clutch member 33. At this time the drivemechanism will be in the position shown in Figures 7 and 8 with the pin49 and actuating yoke 39 and lever in position such as to hold both theroll and shoe drives inactive, that is, with plate 36 and pin 43 bothout of contact with the clutch member 33. Under such conditions, if theknee control 55 is then actuated the result will be that the actuatingarm 54 will be lifted away from contact with the lever 5| and the spring53 on said lever will cause the pin 49 to slide into contact with one ofthe notches 33 in the clutch member 33, as shown in Figures 9 and 10,and thereby carry the cam 45 to the position shown in Figures 11 and 12,which is a half revolution or 180 degrees of rotation. Such rotation ofthe cam moves the shaft 4'! into a position such as to bring the ironingshoe 6| into contact with the roll H) as shown in Figure la. The cam 45is then stopped in its rotation because of the fact that the end 55* ofthe actuating arm 54, which is in the path of the ends of lever 5|,again contacts the lever 5!, this time on the opposite end 5 l and onthe opposite side of said lever, thereby pulling the pin 49 out ofcontact with the clutch member 33, and thus causing the cam 45 to stopits rotation. It is apparent on inspection of Figure 12 that the lever46 is in a maximum position which corresponds to the position whichbrings the shoe 6! into ironing contact with-the roll l0 and suchposition is held until the actuating arm 54 is again moved to pull thearm end 54 thereof out of contact with the pivoted lever 51 and therebyallow such lever to push the pin 49 into contact with the clutch member33 and to again drive the cam 45 for a half revolution, thereby to putthe cam 45 in position corresponding to the shoe 6! being in the normaldown position away from the roll H3.

From the normal ironing position of Figure 14 the emergency release canbe effected, if desired, by the operation of the emergency release lever[04, as previously described. Or normal re lease can be had on asubsequent actuation of the knee control 59 when the shoe 5! will moveaway from the roll ill to the position in Figure 13 on a subsequent halfrevolution of the cam 45. Then, by successive actuations of the kneecontrol lever, the shoe 5! may be alternately brought into contact andout of contact with the ironer roll Ill at the will of the operator.

It is believed that the other features of operation have beensufficiently described in the general description of the mechanism.

Although reference has been made in the foregoing specification to aspecific construction it is intended that various modifications may bemade without departing from the fundamental principles herein disclosedand within the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. In an ironing machine, a roll, an ironing shoe mounted in asubstantially horizontal plane below said roll and adapted for movementtoward and away from said roll, bracket members extending from the frontedge of said shoe, a front support lever positioned substantiallyvertically when said shoe is spaced away from said roll, an upper pivotconnecting said front support lever to said bracket members, a lowerpivot supporting said front support lever, a support member under saidshoe, a pivot connecting said support member under said shoe, a bellcrank member, a pivotal connection between said bell crank member andthe lower portion of said support member, mechanism to oscillate saidbell crank member thereby to move said shoe toward and away from saidroll, a stop for limiting movement of said front support lever about itslower pivot, a second stop for limiting movement of said support memberunder said shoe about its lower pivot relative to said bell crank, saidstops being so positioned as to arrest movement of said front supportlever about its lower pivot during the latter portion of the movement ofsaid shoe toward said roll prior to the contact of said shoe with saidroll, whereby the final movement of said shoe is in a directionsubstantially controlled by the movement of said shoe about said upperpivot of said front support lever.

2. In an ironing machine, a roll, an ironing shoe mounted in asubstantially horizontal plane below said roll and adapted for movementtoward and away from said roll, support levers extending downwardly fromsaid shoe in front of and centrally of said shoe and positionedsubstantial 1y vertically when said shoe is spaced away from said roll,upper and lower pivotal connections for said support levers mountingsaid shoe to be moved toward and away from said roll, mechanism foractuating said support levers to move said shoe, stops for arrestingmovement about said lower pivotal connections so positioned as to arrestmovement about said front lower pivotal connection during the latterportion of the movement of said shoe toward said roll prior to thecontact of said shoe with roll, whereby the final movement of said shoeis in a direction substantially controlled by the movement of said shoeabout said front upper pivotal connection as a center.

3. In an ironing machine, a roll, a shoe, and means for moving said shoetoward and away from said roll comprising: a supporting member includingan end piece, means pivotally connecting said end piece with said shoe,a rod adjustably connected at its upper end with said end piece, anactuating member for said shoe, a pin rotatably carried by saidactuating member, said pin having an opening and the lower portion ofsaid rod extending slidably through said opening, a stop carried by saidactuating member, an abutment on said pin. adapted to abut said stop,and a spring surrounding said rod between said pin and said end piece.

4. In an ironing machine, a roll, a shoe, and

vmeans for moving said shoe toward and. away from said roll comprising:a supporting lever including an end member, means pivotally connectingsaid end member with said shoe, a rod connected at its upper end to saidend member, an actuating member for said shoe, a pin rotatably carriedby said actuating member, said pin having an opening and said rodextending slidably through said opening, a compression springsurrounding said rod on one side of said pin between said pin and saidend member, a stop carried by said actuating member, an abutment on saidpin adapted to abut said stop, and

means on said rod between said spring and said end member for adjustingthe compression of said spring.

5. In an ironing machine, a roll, a shoe, and means for moving said shoetoward and away from said roll comprising: a supporting member includingan end piece, means pivotally connecting said end piece with said shoe,a threaded rod adjustably connected at its upper end to said end piece,an actuating member for said shoe, a pin rotatably carried by saidactuating member, said pin having an opening and the lower portion ofsaid rod extending slidably through said opening, a compression springsurrounding said rod between said pin and said end piece, a stop carriedby said actuating member, an abutment on said pin adapted to abut saidstop, and means on the threaded portion of said rod between said springand said end piece for adjusting the compression of said spring.

ARTHUR R. CONSTANTINE.

14 REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the tileof this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,576,804 Arbron Mar. 16, 19261,582,243 Braun Apr. 27, 1926 1,670,742 Richards May 22, 1928 1,677,666Weller July 17, 1928 1,782,572 Janda Nov. 25, 1930 1,865,048 Ringer June28, 1932 1,970,511 Foley Aug. 14, 1934 1,987,332 Gallagher Jan. 8, 19352,056,666 Geldhof Oct. 6, 1936 2,084,383 Clement June 23, 1937 2,090,686La Rue Aug. 24, 1937 2,291,059 Ringer July 28, 1942 2,346,374 Freis Apr.11, 1944 2,365,542 Freis Dec. 19, 1944 2,456,385 Constantine Dec. 14,1948

